U.S. targets doubling aid by 2015 - USAID

ROME (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama wants to double U.S. aid funds to $52 billion by 2015, the head of U.S. aid agency USAID said on Friday.

"Our president proposes to double ODA (Official Development Assistance) by 2015 which sends a signal I think to the rest of the world that we cannot pull back on our support," USAID Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham said.

Global U.S. ODA stood at just under $26 billion in 2008.

He was speaking after a Group of Eight meeting of development ministers reaffirmed its commitment to aid pledges made in 2005, even though a report this week said G8 nations were collectively off course in delivering on a promise to more than double aid to Africa by 2010.

The report, which singled out Italy and France as trailing far behind their G8 partners on the aid front, said Washington was instead on course to meet its targets.

In an interview with Reuters, Fulgham said his G8 colleagues had "recognised the need to sustain their (aid) levels", adding that because of the financial crisis all countries were "under a tremendous amount of stress to manage resources appropriately".

Faced with the global economic downturn and dwindling public resources, rich countries need to be creative and look at alternative ways to help the poor, including contributions from foundations and the private sector.

"If you look at the figures over the next 25 to 50 years, ODA is going to continue to grow but is not going to grow at the level that would be needed in order to support the countries we are working with," Fulgham said.